There is disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 5,158,481, a shielded electrical connector comprising; a terminal support block, contact terminals supported on the block for connection to wires, and shielding for the connector comprising; a mating end on a front shell encircling a mating end of the terminal support block, and conductive backshells enveloping the block. A jackscrew mechanism comprises; jackscrews rotatably mounted in an insulating composite cover, the cover enveloping the backshells. Before the separate parts of the composite cover are assembled and locked together, the backshells and both jackscrews must be laid carefully in one of the cover parts. Difficulty is experienced in assembling and locking the cover parts together while holding the loose parts, the backshells and jackscrews, in place. The difficulty is increased when it is necessary to use tooling apparatus to apply sufficient force to press the cover parts together until they interlock. Once the cover parts are assembled and locked together, the cover and the jackscrews are unable to be disassembled without a risk of damaging the cover.
A desirable jackscrew mechanism would have a cover that is fully assembled to the connector without the jackscrews, which reduces the difficulty involved in assembling and locking the cover parts to one another while trying to hold the other loose parts in their positions. The jackscrews, subsequently assembled, would become locked for rotation with respect to the cover. The jackscrews would be held in the cover in such a manner that the jackscrews were unable to pry apart the cover parts.